June 2004 Archives
Jfer and I had a movie date on Friday night. We were hoping to see Fahrenheit 9/11 (or, as I like to think of it, Centigrade 4/88) but it was hopelessly sold out. This allowed me to convince Jfer that we had to see Dodgeball.
Just as with Old School, Jfer pretended that she wasn't interested and ended up laughing harder than me. Overall, it's a great, light hearted comedy which probably brings back long-suppressed memories of old dodgeball matches. Unfortunately (or probably luckily) I never got to play dodgeball growing up -- we had a similar game but played it with one or more volleyballs. They hurt a lot more when you get hit in the face.
Apparently the movie's American Dodgeball Association of America (ADAA) is fictional, but there exists the American Dodgeball Federation (ADF), as well as the neatly acronymed National Amateur Dodgeball Association (NADA). There is also the International Dodge-Ball Federation which happens to have an annoyingly slow, flash intro page on their website.
So, I give thumbs up to the movie. We'll probably wait for the 4th of July to see Michael Moore's propaganda flick.
Now that we're expecting, I should be able to reap the once-a-year rewards of Father's Day. I'm accused of being difficult to buy for, so here are a couple of suggestions:
Electric Mosquito Swatter
I've been lusting after one of these ever since I played with one (and zapped myself) during a business trip to Taiwan. I think I've seen them locally at Barbeques Galore a couple of years ago, but they don't list them online.
Digital Fork Thermometer
I messed up my kitchen thermometer using it on the grill, so it would be cool to have one of those fork thermometers to check whether the chicken is safely done. Bonus for one that tells you what the right temperatures are for each type of meat so that I don't have to consult the web every time I grill.
Quite frequently -- maybe once a week -- we find an empty can of Busch beer on the sidewalk in front of our house. They are always in the same spot and I assume it's the same person who tosses them there.
I just don't understand that. Who in there right mind hangs out at my fence and littlers? Or maybe does a drive-by and uses the transformer by the fance for beer can target practice? I have a hard time compregending how someone would litter like that -- were they raised in a barn or by wolves?
I hope I catch them in the act sometime, but it's not very likely. Maybe I should put up a sign for them and suggest alternate activities or at least better brands of beer. Of course, they might switch to glass bottles and that would be even worse.
On Thursday night, I finially got to feel our baby move for the first time. Over the last few weeks Jfer occasionally did the "touch my belly now!" routine, but I never got to feel anything. This time I did -- it felt like a little spasm, as if Jfer had the hickups. Pretty neat and nothing at all like the Alienesque movement that I got to see and feel on Elizabeth and Hanka's "I'm about to deliver" bellies. That's still to come, of course.
I had finally finished watching the last instalment of The New Americans which I had taped off KLRU a couple of months ago. It's an amazing documentary and puts a very human face on the immigration issue.
The program follows four groups of people as they immigrate into the US. It includes Ogoni refuges from Nigeria, a Palestinian bride from the West Bank, Ball players from the Dominican Republic, Laborers from Mexico and Tech workers from India. All of the people are engrossing and their stories and struggles captivating.
The show made me appreciate how easy I've had it and some of the issues that my parents must have dealt with when they left Czechoslowakia for Switzerland. Although we didn't have it as bad as many of the families in the documentary -- after all, my parents are educated, had some school friends in Switzerland, the host country was supportive of immigrants and there was a strong ex pat community -- they still dealt with many of the same issues: lack of financial resources, essentially starting from scratch at age 34 with two children, heaving to deal with a foreign language, customs and a certain amount of xenophobia.
If you get a chance to see this movie, by all means take the time for it. Until then, check out the web site and take the Immigration Myths and Realities Quiz. I failed quite badly...
We had our first birthing class tonight and it was a pretty interesting experience. Jfer signed us up for Hypno Birthing (as Seen on TV) for a couple of good reasons. First, it's a natural way that strives to avoid medication and stress. Second the class consists of five meetings (as opposed to the months spent on Bradley or Lamaze). And finally, it worked out really well for Elizabeth.
Despite of what one (i.e. me) might expect, it wasn't too new agey and the other three couples in the class seemed pretty normal, too. The teachers Heather and Jan were pretty laid back and not really on a doctors-are-bad crusade (although the midwives-are-better message did come across).
The classes are at seven and since they deal with busy people, they encourage you to bring dinner and eat during the meeting if you can't before. Jfer got us some buritos at Whole Foods but wasn't yet hungry when the meeting started. After the initial information there was a short break after which we were to watch a couple of videos. Jfer decided this would be a good time for dinner. We dug in and while I was chomping on my burrito, they started the videos. This was the first time I've actually seen a birth. Needless to say, I quickly put away the rest of my dinner -- and I must say that the Asian Wrap from Whole Foods has been spoiled for me forever. Sure, the labors and deliveries all looked like a breeze, but it still was pretty darn grody, to put it politely.
Later on we went through a "relaxation process" which is what they call hypnosis. It was actually very relaxing but I think my brain descended into "delta wave" territory (in other words I might have taken a nap). This is good stuff, though, and I think this is going to work out well for us. Although, considering how laid back Jennifer is compared to some of the other mothers there, I'm afraid she might OD on relaxation.
Last weekend my work moved to a new office location (that's the 5th office since I joined) and I'm quite happy about it. For one, I now have a window again, and this time it's facing North (i.e. it's not hot) and with a view of nice tree tops. Second, there seems to be plenty of parking under shady, grackle-less oak trees. And third, it's even closer to home than before. Despite several red lights, my 2.8 mile trip home took a little less than 7 minutes.
Not bad at all!
